


In Good Company

by SleepsWithCoyotes



Category: Star Ocean
Genre: Community: areyougame, Dragons, Interspecies Sex, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-28
Updated: 2016-02-28
Packaged: 2018-05-23 16:53:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6123157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SleepsWithCoyotes/pseuds/SleepsWithCoyotes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bowman's bright idea has unexpected results.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Good Company

**Author's Note:**

> Written for areyougame: October 25 - Star Ocean: The Second Story, Dias/Ashton: xenokink - it makes the dragons purr. Also, "Natural High - When used in combat, this medicine interferes with making cool judgments."

The first lizard wasn't a surprise; they haunted the rocky plains and wooded foothills in these parts, and facing one alone was pretty good odds. "Salamander," Ashton called to the others as the beast eeled its way out of a narrow fissure in a landslide tumble of rock. Drawing his short swords, he felt the dragons perk with interest at his back. Maybe a little too much interest.

"Awrk?" Gyoro said, neck stiffening up straight over Ashton's right shoulder, and there wasn't a single word of translated thought to echo behind it.

So that was just startlement, then, and Ashton put it down to the dragons having good noses, better eyesight than him, because Gyoro had clearly been expecting the second salamander to slither out of the rocks after the first.

"Make that two," Claude said, his own sword already in hand.

"Let's just try not to start a forest fire this time," Celine said sweetly, looking at Bowman, "hm?"

"Lucky shot," Bowman replied with a sheepish laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Um...that's--that's three," Rena offered, staring wide-eyed at the dark, narrow tunnel in the rock the lizards had emerged from. "Four."

"Four?" Bowman echoed, jerking his head back around.

"Hn," Dias offered as the fifth and six broke into a spitting, hissing brawl trying to squeeze out at the same time.

"What the--is there a nest in there or something?" Claude demanded, staring in perplexity as a veritable wave of oversized red lizards came bounding down the hillside towards them.

"Seven," Rena said very quietly, gathering her healing magic around her already.

Ashton didn't wait to see if more would arrive. There was a time and a place for retreat, but out in the open like this, there was nowhere to retreat _to,_ and despite their bulk, the salamanders were fast. Charging ahead, gratefully aware of Dias and Claude flanking him, he rushed the hill head-on, hoping to make the monsters retreat instead. Maybe Celine had some sort of magic that would seal the cave behind them...or at least stop any more from getting out.

_They_ would _have to be strong against fire,_ he heard Gyoro grumble inside his head, the red dragon baring impressive fangs and dropping his head to a ready curve just over Ashton's shoulder.

_Never mind,_ Ururun consoled, only a tiny hint of worry creeping through in his mental voice. _You're better with your teeth anyway._

_And what's_ that _supposed to mean?_

"Argue later," Ashton groaned, "please."

The first salamander had to skid to a stop to avoid charging right over him, rearing back with a nearsighted glare. It looked surprised to see that he hadn't stayed put. They did tend to spend most of their time in caves, he remembered, the rest of the world too quick to burn from a casual yawn. Except when they came out to hunt--and not much dodged salamander fire if it spotted you first--they mostly lived in darkness.

That didn't change the fact that they were incredibly difficult to kill, half-blinded by daylight or not. His first stroke rebounded harmlessly off thick neck plating, and his second--which did hit scale--didn't bite deep enough. Bellowing in outrage, the thing aimed a swipe at him with powerful claws, and as he danced hurriedly out of the way, he felt Gyoro's head whip around to sink sharp fangs into the softer skin just under the salamander's eye.

That made it scream, and a great gout of fire ballooned out along with it, aimed wide and wild. Ururun spat ice out of sheer affront at nearly being singed, and Ashton saw the scales where it hit go grey with hoarfrost, the faded red blackening at the deadly chill.

_There!_ the dragons urged in unison, and he swung again, point-first this time, his blades sinking into the creature's neck as steely scales buckled and cracked.

Another scream, and there was blood _everywhere,_ scalding-hot. He must have hit an artery, and he yanked his swords free in a hurry, hissing himself as a few droplets spattered his cheek. Ururun's cool tongue laved his skin, soothing the worst of the burn, and he waited only long enough to see the salamander he'd wounded go shrieking back into the cave before turning to see where he could be the most help.

Claude and Celine were holding their own against a snarling pair when he looked, but Dias was struggling against three, one already lying dead in the midst of the pack. As he watched, Rena's healing magic enveloped the man, and though Dias had been retreating before, he rallied now and sent the salamanders leaping back from his blade. Ashton shook his head and dove into the fray, wondering only dimly where in the world Bowman had gone.

"Found it!" he heard at their backs as he was sliding in on Dias' left. There really wasn't time for a glance back to see what Bowman was up to, but he did startle a bit as something sparkly and powdery got shaken over Dias' head from behind.

Dias jerked, head snapping up and eyes going wide, a long shudder racing through him from head to toe. For a moment his gaze went distant and unfocused, but it sharpened all at once, pupils shrinking to pinpricks as his mouth went tight and hard.

"Dias?" Ashton asked nervously, stepping forward to get between the lizards and the other man if Dias didn't snap out of it quick.

Which turned out to be completely unnecessary. Lunging past him without warning, Dias attacked the nearest salamander with a ferocity that left Ashton stunned, staring after the man in patent disbelief. Blind to everything else around him, Dias battered the monster with blows that had to have his entire strength behind them, unceasing and untiring. Though it tried its best to rake him with its talons or put enough distance between them to bring its fire into play, the salamander didn't stand a chance. Ashton had never seen anything like it in his life.

"That's the ticket!" Bowman said with a proud grin, fanning himself absently with a heavy piece of creased parchment. "Too bad I only had a single dose, but I figured that guy'd make the most of it."

"What did you do to him?" Ashton demanded, a tight knot of worry clenching in his gut.

"It's nothing bad," Bowman assured him, brows arching in surprise. "Just a little something to boost your strength and focus. A guy like Dias should tear though these uglies like a demon," he added, grin resurrecting despite Ashton's skeptical look. "Of course, his judgment might be a bit impaired...."

Snapping his head back around to the fight, Ashton found another dead salamander draped over the first, another mortally wounded...and the last one creeping around Dias from behind, slinking low to the ground with its fangs gaping wide, prepared to spit or strike.

Yelling at the top of his lungs to get the thing's attention, Ashton sprinted to close with the monster, legs pumping so fast he was surprised they didn't run right out from under him. He supposed he must have distracted it after all, or maybe that was Ururun's ice breath streaking up its spine, Gyoro's flames stinging its tail. It whipped around with a hissing yelp, rearing up to put the shield of its plated belly between it and them, long tail lashing furiously.

Ashton didn't know what to make of the awful way it jerked and went completely still, staring glassily at him in a strained moment of shock before it simply crumpled to a heap on the grass. Slowing to a surprised stumble, Ashton drew up short when he saw Dias facing him just behind the monster, bloody sword upraised, the tip still pointing in his direction. A quick glance down saw the neat gash driven right through the salamander's spine where Ururun's breath had turned its scales brittle, weakening them enough for Dias to take it out in one blow.

"Goodness," Ashton said without thinking, wide-eyed and impressed, not least of which when he noticed the last monster, hacked to pieces, twitching out its last at Dias' back. A quick glance at Claude and Celine found them slumping in relief, two more monsters dead at their feet, so that was--

Dias' sword swept down, but he didn't sheathe it or move to clean it, just started forward with long, determined strides headed right towards Ashton.

"Uh...Dias?" he asked, brows arching at the oddly intent look he was receiving. Most of Dias' expressions could be categorized as either bored or intense, but this was quite a bit more intense than usual. And now Dias' pupils were widening, all but engulfing the blue. Did that mean anything in particular? "Er...?"

"Dias?" he heard Rena say, a note of panic in her voice, which was odd, because Dias didn't look angry, just--

He felt the dragons rear back in shock as Dias walked right up to him, reached out to curve a large, callused hand around his nape, and--oh. _Oh_. Dias was _kissing_ him.

Dias was very good at kissing.

Bowman's whistle probably ought to be embarrassing, he mused distractedly, but he was rather more interested in what Dias was doing with his tongue, because it was making him go just a little bit boneless. It was a decidedly hungry sort of kiss, but Dias seemed to be taking his time all the same, as single-minded about memorizing the inside of Ashton's mouth as he had been while killing those monsters. Oh, and there was something very important in that, but the only response that seemed at all appropriate was to whimper very quietly and lean into Dias for more.

_Well,_ Ururun said faintly. _That's...very interesting._

_Hn,_ Gyoro growled, and Ashton squirmed a bit, feeling warm breath tickle against his ear. And it wasn't Dias'.

"Stop that," he pulled back enough to mutter, shaking his head to make Gyoro stop scenting him, which was embarrassing enough when they were alone.

The shock that ran through Dias made the man take a stumbling step back, his usual grace deserting him as he stared, swallowed hard, and took another deliberate step away. "I--sorry," Dias said, strained, looking like he wanted nothing more than to turn on his heel and stalk as far and as fast in the opposite direction as he could. "I don't--"

"Bowman drugged you," Ashton said quickly, loud enough for the others to hear, just in case. _Dias_ was apologizing? That was wrong in more ways than he knew what to do with. "How do you feel?"

"Confused," Dias admitted over Bowman's noise of protest.

Ashton smiled; he was good at smiling, even when his stomach was tying itself in knots. "I'm not surprised. He said it might do strange things to your head. Anyway, if you think you can walk...?" Dias nodded tightly, frowning at Ashton with a wariness he supposed he deserved. "We'd better get out of here in case there's more of those things."

Another nod from Dias. Everyone else seemed inclined to agree, but no one seemed to know where to look.

_Oh my god,_ Ashton thought very quietly to himself, taking point where no one could see his expression. _Oh my god. I kissed Dias. Or he kissed me. But I definitely kissed him back. Oh my_ god.

_Well,_ Ururun offered, _it wasn't actually unpleasant._

_Hn,_ Gyoro agreed, more than a hint of growl in his tone but no real words, just--

_Oh, no,_ Ashton scrambled to protest, _don't even think it. That wasn't--it doesn't_ work _like that--I mean--_

_Kissing?_ Ururun asked doubtfully. _That didn't look any different from the usual. Do you have a special kind we haven't seen yet?_

_Hn._

_Special--you--what?_

_We see you people do it all the time,_ Ururun informed him gently, as if he might be a little slow. _Take Rena and Claude, for instance--_

_Yes,_ Ashton said desperately, _Rena and Claude, and Claude and Celine, I'm sure, and any number of people on the street--but not Dias!_

The dragons were silent for a moment, looking at each other and then back over Ashton's shoulders to where Dias brought up the very rear of the party, Rena holding on to his arm with both hands and talking very softly and very intently at him. Dias kept his eyes on the faded dirt track they were following, his expression tight and withdrawn. If he noticed the dragons' scrutiny, it didn't show.

_Why not Dias?_ Ururun asked at last. _I think he likes you._

_Hnnn,_ Gyoro purred, yellow eyes half-lidded, and Ashton reached up to yank the red dragon's head down and around with a silent yip of pure panic.

***

The dragons looked at him differently after his... _moment_ in the woods. Dias could tell.

It wasn't anything terribly obvious, not so the others would notice, at least; they didn't stare at him too long or follow him with their eyes. It was just a hint of curiosity he noticed now and then, a speculative glint in yellow eyes, a more kindly gleam in blue. If he came too near--and as determinedly as he was trying to avoid Ashton, it sometimes couldn't be helped--more often than not he found a scaled head peering at him from rather too close, at least until Ashton noticed and moved quickly away. That...stung, like the moment when he'd come back to himself to see Ashton staring up at him, wide-eyed and dazed, shaking his head _no._

"He was talking to Gyoro!" Rena had insisted afterwards, keeping her voice low enough that even Celine, curious as a cat, couldn't have made out what she was saying. He'd almost believed her then, but with Ashton acting so skittish around him even days later, he wasn't holding out much hope.

He didn't know why he'd even developed this strange _fixation_ on the man anyway. It'd been Ashton's skill with a blade that had caught his eye at first, his uncanny speed, the way his twin blades sang and flashed, too fast to see. His unflagging optimism had been nothing less than alien, but that had fascinated him too. He hadn't known anyone but Rena could be like that, and it was...interesting to watch him get up again each time he was knocked down despite the stares, his own fears, the dragons themselves.

Who were watching him again, Gyoro openly, Ururun keeping Ashton distracted by attempting to filch his pen while stealing little glances in Dias' direction. He wondered briefly what Ashton was working on: a book, perhaps, or jotting down some tune that had come to him on the road, or even sketching some place or person he'd seen. Ashton was incurably artistic, which Dias respected; if he'd had the choice, he wouldn't have made the sword his entire life, either.

Sighing faintly, he stretched his legs out before him, soaking up the sun coming through the tall windows of the inn's common room. The nagging feeling that he ought to be training couldn't be silenced entirely, but Rena would give him reproachful looks if he stirred from this spot before Ashton did, and...it was good to rest now and then.

Ururun snagged the pen from Ashton's fingers at last with a muffled "'Wroo!" of triumph that smeared cold-steam around his blue-scaled head. Ashton huffed, but he sounded like he was trying not to laugh, the vague hint of irritation in his tone just for show.

"Come on, Ururun. How am I supposed to get anything done if you--huh? Well, why didn't you say so? I've got two pens, you know. You--I am _not_ prejudiced!"

Smiling felt a little unnatural, but only the dragons saw him. It was a pity that Ashton was so clearly the type that liked small, cute things, like that irritating child Prescis and the sick girl whose name Dias had already forgotten. Dias was neither small nor cute, couldn't even remember a time when he'd been either, but he did wonder just how broad Ashton's definition of "cute" was and whether the dragons happened to fall under it. He certainly did treat them with more tolerance and affection than he did anyone else.

"My god, Ururun...where did you learn to draw like that?" Ashton demanded, staring in awe at the second stack of paper he'd set up for the blue dragon.

"Awroo," Ururun said smugly, showing off his fangs in a wide, white grin, pen stuck at a rakish tilt between sharp teeth.

Maybe, Dias mused to himself, Ashton liked dangerous things too. Just a few. That was good to know.

***

He really wished the dragons would stop looking at Dias like that. It was going to get him in trouble.

Gyoro was the worst, staring openly when no one else was looking--no one but Dias, that was, and Ashton wasn't sure that was better. Sometimes he even caught Gyoro growling, only without enough threat in it to pass for...well, to pass. At least it was quiet enough that Dias probably couldn't hear it, because if Dias ever looked at him point-blank and asked, "Ashton, why is your dragon growling at me?" he was just going to sink right into the floor or die some horrible death by embarrassment right there on the spot. That's if Dias didn't kill him first, of course.

He really, really shouldn't have kissed Dias back. The drug had been Bowman's fault, but Ashton hadn't had any such excuse.

_Hm,_ Ururun said in a thoughtful purr, blue eyes sleepy, the curve of his neck relaxed and content. _I've never seen a human move like that. Where do you suppose he learned it?_

"Erm," Ashton said, too distracted to manage a silent reply. He probably shouldn't be watching Dias practice, either, but there wasn't much else to do now that they'd made camp, and there were too many monsters in the area to go far. Even if he'd kill for some alone time right about now, what with Ururun _smiling_ like that--it was in the eyes, mostly, and the tilt of his head--and Gyoro rumbling something halfway between a growl and a purr, and Dias twisting through sword-forms with a speed and power that would take anyone's breath away.

Dias had shed his cloak but hadn't tied back his hair, and it whipped around him as he spun, parried, blocked, his sword dancing light as a willow-switch in his hand. Despite the long hours they'd traveled, Dias trained tirelessly, never stumbling even as the sun began to slip behind the trees. In the growing half-light, his edges began to blur, and he looked all the more sinuous for it, his movements boneless, his grace serpentine.

_What a pity,_ Ururun sighed faintly, _that he doesn't have scales._

He was going to blush, he _knew_ he was, and--oh. Dias had stopped, and...why was he coming this way?

_Didn't you notice?_ Ururun asked, amused. _He has the bedroll next to yours._

Ashton blinked. How had _that_ happened? He'd just...put his things down in a haze when he saw Dias start to...oh.

Dias wasn't looking at him, which was a relief. But the man's packs were right there beside him, and as Dias dropped to one knee to rummage through them--eyes lowered, hair swinging forward to curtain his face--Gyoro stretched his neck out and buried his muzzle in all that blue, purring unabashed when Dias lifted his head with a start.

Ashton sort of wanted to fall over, but...what the dragons sensed he sensed, and at the moment he was drowning in Dias' scent: clean sweat and warm skin, the woodsmoke of his hair, a faint musk that was Dias' alone. He found himself wondering if the man would taste the same, but he wasn't sure if that was his thought or Gyoro's, or maybe Ururun's.

"I--sorry, they--um?" Oh yes, and that was explaining everything, wasn't it? He wondered if Dias would move his things to the other side of the fire or settle for simply ignoring him. He wasn't looking forward to either.

"It's fine," Dias said after a long moment, face as unreadable as ever. "I don't mind."

Ashton blinked, then frowned. He...what? "You don't?"

"No."

Ashton waited for an explanation to follow, but Dias just knelt there like a rock, watching him digest that. "Oh," he said at last, feeling sort of foolish. Of course Dias didn't realize what they were really up to; Ashton was still trying to wrap his mind around it himself, that the dragons he was fused to apparently shared more than a body with him. They apparently shared his tastes in...well, his tastes as well. He wasn't sure whether that was incredibly lucky or very, very disturbing. Maybe a little of both.

"Well, er...thanks. I mean--I'm glad it doesn't bother you. They don't mean to be ru--"

Strong and callused as it was, Dias' hand felt very soft against Gyoro's hide as curled knuckles settled under the dragon's chin and stroked, long and firm, down the underside of his neck. It was just like petting a cat, and true to form, Gyoro leaned into the touch with a soft, grating purr, eyes going heavy with pleasure. It felt good--very, very good--and only by burying his teeth in his lower lip did Ashton manage to strangle the pleading moan that wanted to escape. Dias was just...being friendly, that was all; it didn't mean _anything_ \--

Ururun stretched his neck out delicately, eyes wide and guileless, but when Dias reached to stroke him as well--no, to pet him, like a...oh, well, now _that_ was a caress--Ururun snaked his tongue out to curl lightly around Dias' fingers, tasting him thoroughly as Ashton forgot to breathe.

_Oh. Oh, gods._ He thought that was him, though it was hard to be sure. The only response he got was twinned growls, or maybe purrs, echoing warm and lazy inside his head.

When Dias pulled his hands back, Ashton blinked his eyes open with a start, just dazed enough that the urge to scramble to his feet and hide somewhere seemed like a very good idea that someone else should take care of right away. That gave him time to notice Dias' startled look, strangely open, a hint of rue buried along with the rest as the other man mastered his expression again. "Sorry," Dias said, which wasn't what Ashton had expected to hear at all, though it dimly occurred to him that he ought to be getting used to it.

Which was when Ashton realized that as full as their camp was, not one eye was turned towards them, everyone very studiously finding other things to do...on the other side of the fire. With their backs turned. And their heads together, at least in Rena and Celine's case. 

"Oh. Oh, gods." Out loud this time, and that was definitely him...and all of a sudden Dias looked uncertain. Which wasn't, he realized belatedly, what he wanted at all. "Um...can I be incredibly embarrassed now?" he asked, keeping his voice as quiet as Dias' had been and hoping--

Dias almost smiled. Like Ururun, it was mostly in the eyes. "Be my guest," he said, relaxing slowly, and Ashton decided that maybe he didn't quite need to panic just yet.

Until Gyoro made a chortling sound deep in his throat, and Ururun gave Dias a decidedly interested look, and Ashton decided he might want to go ahead and panic after all.

***

"There, you see? I told you it'd all work out!" Rena enthused as she dragged him up the stairs to the upper floor of the inn. She was bouncing at him, had been bouncing at him since his... _moment_ at camp. But at least she'd stopped looking guilty every time she looked at Claude, so he supposed it was a fair trade. Not that Claude deserved her--yet--but at least the boy was man enough to try.

"Hn," he said, and Rena, being Rena, grinned at him delightedly, hugging his arm until he wondered if he'd be getting it back anytime soon.

"Exactly! He's just shy because of the...um, you know...."

He arched a brow at her. She actually blushed.

"Don't get me wrong! They're really, really cute!"

Dias arched the other brow. He had his own reasons for half-hoping Ashton shared her opinion, but the one thing he did not think of when it came to dragons of any stripe was "cute."

"But they do sort of come as a package deal, and...are you really sure you're okay with it?" she asked at the top of the stairs, eyes wide and concerned.

He hesitated a fraction, not because he wasn't certain but because it was incredibly awkward to be discussing his sex life with the girl he regarded as his second sister. But she'd worry if he ignored her question, so he set his jaw and managed a sharp nod, and that made her break into a beaming smile of relief.

"Oh no!" she said suddenly and quite loudly, her grin not dimming a notch. "We seem to be out of rooms! I guess you'll just have to share this one," she informed him, throwing open the nearest door and pushing him inside. "Hi, Ashton!"

He didn't exactly drag his feet, even when he saw Ashton look up from pulling off his boots with the round, startled eyes of a bird caught in a net. When the door was pulled shut behind him, he thought he heard a click from the other side, but he decided to ignore that for now.

"Rena," he said by way of explanation, and Ashton gave him an uncertain little half-smile, understanding and unsurprised.

"I...I heard. Um."

He looked like he might jump out of his skin at any moment, and if his grip on his boot was any indication, he had to be tense as a bowstring, ready to snap. Feeling oddly like he was trying to calm a skittish animal--something he had no talent for at all--Dias decided to stay right where he was and make no sudden moves. "It's fine," he said slowly. "She's just...."

"Glad you're not broken up about her and Claude?" Ashton offered when Dias fell silent, and he nodded, inexplicably pleased that Ashton understood without requiring a long, drawn out explanation.

Encouraged, he took a step away from the door; when Ashton tensed up again, he halted where he was, thought for a moment, and reached for the clasp of his cloak.

"It's late," he said, glancing casually toward the darkened window. "We should get some rest."

"Ah. That's...erm. Yes."

No protest, even from the dragons, who were glancing from him to Ashton and back again with faint puzzlement and concern. Well, there'd be other inns...or there would be if he didn't act like an idiot in this one. He didn't mind. Patience happened to be one of the things he did have a knack for.

He unbuckled his sword with practiced hands, left it ready-to-hand and sat down on the room's other bed to tug off his own boots. He could tell the dragons were watching him, thought Ashton might be too--sidelong, under the fringe of his dark hair--but he very carefully didn't look their way. Patience. No sudden moves. He wasn't sure whether the "quiet" thing would work in his favor or not; he did tend to make people nervous.

"Dias," he heard, and he froze with his hands on the hem of his shirt, wondering if that was too much, if he was going to be sleeping in his clothes tonight. Ashton didn't sound particularly panicked, though, and he glanced up to find the man eyeing him rather desperately, nervous but not afraid. "It's...I haven't...."

He carefully considered what wasn't being said and asked, "With a man?"

"With the dragons, mostly," Ashton said with a strained laugh, "but a little of that, too."

"It's fine," he said again, oddly pleased though he knew that wasn't going to help matters. "We don't have to--"

"It's okay. I want to. I just...."

He was nervous and didn't know what to do, and there wasn't anyone who could tell him, because he was the first person to ever be in his shoes. "I know," Dias said, and Ashton looked so alone and so hopeful then that he couldn't just stay where he was.

Three pairs of eyes watched him as he rose, careful not to seem in too big a hurry as he crossed the small space and sat down gingerly on Ashton's left. Not too close--he didn't want to crowd them--but not so far that he'd look nervous himself. One of them needed to appear confident, or they weren't going to get anywhere, and it looked like it was going to be him.

Ashton eyed him a little uncertainly, but Ururun stretched his neck out, cocking his head as Dias' eyes slid his way. The dragon really did look...interested, which he supposed ought to strike him as strange, except that he'd never known Ashton without them. Besides...he didn't really have much use for most humans, and the dragons definitely weren't that. They were more straightforward, for one thing, and--soft, softer than snakeskin, deep blue scales cool under his palm as he stroked a graceful, muscular neck, Ururun half-lidding his eyes and purring at his touch.

He glanced at Ashton, ready to snatch his hand back and start over, slower, but Ashton wore the same sleepy look as Ururun, paired with a slightly foolish little smile a dragon's mouth wasn't really designed to make. "Ashton?" he asked anyway, just to be sure.

He wasn't prepared for Ashton to purr at him, lighter than the dragons' deeper growls but not quite human all the same. Dias' hand twitched on Ururun's neck, but he didn't freeze, didn't still. He wasn't sure Ashton had even noticed how strange that had sounded--but the dragons had. Ururun's eyes opened reluctantly to fix him with a pleading stare, and Gyoro aimed a glare at him that did a very poor job of hiding the worry just beneath. So Ashton _didn't_ know, probably thought he was done changing, or at least wasn't aware of how deep the changes ran.

Dias nodded shallowly. It wasn't his secret to tell.

Gyoro watched him very closely as he reached to touch Ashton's face, brushing the rough pads of his fingers over the other man's cheek, tracing the arch of bone. Dark lashes fluttered then opened, Ashton blinking owlishly until he collected himself enough to smile. A smiling Ashton seemed like a positive sort of thing, so he leaned in slow, half-expecting to be rebuffed, and instead found Ashton tilting his head just so to meet him.

He hadn't been sure it wasn't the drug, but there really was something impossibly sinuous about the way Ashton's tongue curled with Dias' own, a coaxing glide that made it hard to think of anything _but_ kissing him. Which he'd also put down to the drug, because he certainly had spent far too many hours in the past week thinking of just that. It hadn't been a fluke, though; it was just Ashton, and he was only dimly aware of moving closer still, of his hand sliding along Ururun's scales as the dragon shifted too, purring as his arm curled around a serpentine neck.

"Nn," Ashton hummed, drawing back slightly with a question in his eyes.

Dias shivered. Ururun's breath was very cool, slightly warmer than the tongue that delicately explored the curve of his ear, narrow and forked and feather-light. For a moment it seemed strange, very strange, but it was just Ururun--just Gyoro pinning him with a speculative grin--and Ashton sighing with painful relief when Dias didn't shove him away or run.

He wondered vaguely where Ashton had gotten the idea that he was the type to leave things unfinished, but he didn't ask. He was much more interested in kissing Ashton, so he did, and this time Ashton didn't hold back. It was Dias who groaned into Ashton's mouth, very quietly, which made them purr again--all three of them--soft and surprised and pleased.

Dias wasn't certain if there was an easier way to deal with Ashton's clothes and two dragons or not, but when he slid a hand up Ashton's hip and under the cloth, Ashton leaned back with a start and gave him a wide-eyed look that asked if he was absolutely certain he knew what he was doing. Stroking small circles with his thumb for an answer, Dias waited patiently, the very corner of his mouth tipping up slightly as Ashton fumbled for the hem, bit his lip and lifted.

There was a brief confusion of arms and necks and cloth, the dragons ducking out at the same time Ashton was trying to tug the shirt up over his own head, and Dias reached to help, amused. Ashton's hair was a mess at the end, but a quick headshake settled the dark strands back into place so neatly Dias felt a brief stab of envy, reaching to card his own fingers through it in disbelief.

"Mm," Ashton said, eyes closing again, and Dias snorted softly, deciding another kiss couldn't hurt.

The heavy robes of a Crest Knight had hidden more than Dias realized. He'd known Ashton was strong--had to be to carry the weight of the dragons all day--but stripped to the skin, he was solid with compact muscle, warm and hard under Dias' appreciative hands. Light touches up his sides made him shiver and squirm, not quite ticklish enough to break away from Dias' mouth, though he groaned something muffled when Dias rubbed the edge of his thumb in a slow half-circle around pebbled flesh. "Ah," he said when Dias let him breathe at last, head tipping back as Dias traced an unhurried path down the bared line of his throat. "Dias--"

"Hn," he said, pausing to dip his tongue into the hollow formed by the wings of his collarbones, tasting scale and skin and the crackle of ozone, a trace of the magic inked into Ashton's skin. It wouldn't take much to push Ashton down, he thought, but the logistics of that left him stymied. Would that even work with the dragons attached as they were? It was a nice bed, very comfortable, but he wasn't sure it was as nice as all that.

Ashton didn't stiffen when Dias slid off the mattress, got a hip between Ashton's legs and pushed, settling on his knees between Ashton's thighs. Mostly he looked surprised, eyes going wider still as Dias navigated Ashton's belt and the fastenings of his pants. He wasn't sure why the dragons were supervising the operation with quite so much interest; surely they'd seen it before. Only maybe Ashton had been too self-conscious to do _this:_ slip his hand inside and curl his fingers to fit, drawing out a cock already half-hard and firming with just a few strokes. The other corner of Dias' mouth edged up at that, and he tightening his fingers, feeling Ashton jump in his hand: not quite as long as his own but straight and thick, perfectly human. Not that he'd been worried, exactly; more like curious, after Ashton's purr and his _tongue._

Breath hitching as Dias drew a meandering line up the length of his shaft, Ashton fell back on his hands, fingers curling into the sheets. "God," he breathed, endorsement enough, so Dias did it again, enjoying Ashton's strangled attempts at keeping his voice down. Even now, Ashton was polite to a fault, hips rocking up by the barest of fractions though the muscles of his thighs bunched and flexed. Dias took him deep and came up slow, half thinking he'd like to see that control break.

Something cool brushed his cheek then, and though part of him said _Ururun,_ he glanced sidelong just to be sure. The dragon's face was just inches away, pale eyes curious and questioning, but Dias didn't lift his head to answer. He couldn't be expecting Ashton to translate for them all the time, and--

He let his eyes drift closed, angling his head only a little to the side as Ururun nuzzled cautious and cool under the curtain of his hair, tongue-tip flickering against his throat, tasting him or scenting him or both. Ashton made a startled noise above him that shaded into wonder, and for a moment he felt a hand settling tentatively atop his head, restless fingers playing over his hair, too considerate to fist and pull.

Scales slid against his cheek, but he didn't open his eyes until he felt a cool, clever tongue brush against his lips and heard Ashton choke on a muffled curse. One blue eye rolled to meet Dias' surprised stare as Ururun coiled his tongue around the base of Ashton's cock, which was...strange, yes, but worth it to see Ashton forget himself and thrust up for more. After the heat of Dias' mouth, the chill of Ururun's tongue must be--

_"Uru--ah!"_

Oh, yes. Very worth it.

Holding Ashton's hips down with both hands, he pulled up by inches, Ururun's tongue snaking up after him as the dragon took his own taste. It lit some inexplicable warmth in the pit of his stomach to watch them as he let Ashton slip free of his mouth entirely, Ururun purring as his tongue-tips explored Ashton's leaking slit. Ashton shivered and jerked, legs hooking around Dias as his hands came up off the mattress, not to grab at either of them but to clutch at Gyoro's strong neck and hold on for dear life.

Growling something approving and fond, the red dragon curved his head around and buried his muzzle against Ashton's throat, tongue flicking out in long, soothing passes. Ashton's breath caught on a shuddering moan, but his head tipped back cautiously for more, fingers twitching and curling against Gyoro's scales. Transfixed and achingly hard, Dias couldn't pull his eyes away, his own breath stilling as yellow eyes cut towards him, weighing and then warming when he didn't look away.

Not waiting to see whether Ururun would give way--and not particularly troubled when the dragon did not--Dias lowered his head again and closed his mouth over both Ashton's cock and the spiraling wind of Ururun's tongue, blood-heat and icy chill. Dias smiled to himself when Ashton's legs clamped tight and his body went taut, coming moments later with a breathless shout.

The inquisitive slide of Ururun's tongue as Dias swallowed and the dragon _considered_ was an odd sort of kiss, one that dragged a full-body jolt from Ashton that had the knight curling over his own lap with a faint whimper, still shaking through aftershocks. Eyes blown wide with disbelief, the way Ashton's mouth worked silently might have worried Dias more except that Ashton still hadn't eased his death-grip on Gyoro and was starting to blush with something remarkably like hunger the longer he stared.

"Oh my _god._ You...!"

Dias was pretty sure that "you" hadn't been aimed entirely at him, but he couldn't mind too very much with a cool, forked tongue grooming him as well, enthusiastic and appreciative, Ururun's purring growl rumbling just beneath his ear.

"Us," he said with a shrug, arching a brow when that made Ashton start and laugh.

"You're too much alike," Ashton accused, game smile growing more confident when Dias huffed and looked pointedly away. "Much too much."

He wasn't sure what made Ashton cock his head then, whether it was some thought of his own or some comment of the dragons', but whatever it was, it put a shy little grin on Ashton's face that grew as Dias knelt there waiting.

"What?"

"Um," Ashton said, slowly loosening his grip on Gyoro to reach out and brush Dias' bangs from his face. "Just, ah...just wondering if you purr too."

"Try me," Dias invited, and if his voice came out lower and rougher than even he'd expected, at least he was in good company for it.


End file.
